章 16: See You Around
My phone buzzed just as dinner ended.
Chrissy: Leslie said she saw you with a man??
Leslie was her roommate that worked as the hostess. She must have seen me talking with Nate. I sighed and replied.
Me: I ran into Nate.
Chrissy: What?!? No way!!! Tell me more!!
"You ready to go, Val?" Brittany asked, the rest of her friends had started to stand up.
I nodded. "Yea, lets get going. We have a full day ahead of us tomorrow." I stood up, and sent a quick reply to Chrissy.
Me: Later, when I get home.
Chrissy: Alright. I'm waiting!
Brittany hooked arms with me as we left the restaurant. "I'm so excited for tomorrow. Tell me a little bit about where we're going!"
I smiled, relieved to see her so relaxed. "It's right near the beach. It's a shopping district known for very formal wear. I made a few reservations at all the local bridal boutiques and even had them hold a few dresses that I know you'll be interested in."
"How can you be so sure that Brittany will like any of them?" Rachel asked from behind me. Her attitude was really getting on my nerves.
Have to stay calm. And rational. "Brittany has sent me ideas during her first dress shopping experience. I took that to the boutiques just to give them an idea of what she's looking for. It's not like she has to buy whatever I pick out." I refused to even look back at her.
"Don't worry, I trust you." Brittany smiled as we walked to the car.
In the parking lot, I was wary of a tall figure just standing around, but I recognized him in an instant. Nate. He stood in the moonlight with the glow of a streetlight, just kind of looking around. He heard us girls and turned our way.
"Hey, isn't that him again..?" Brittany whispered.
I nodded. Seeing him alone in the parking lot was a little surreal. He looked like he had been out here for awhile just standing around.
I gave the keys to Brittany. "Here. You guys get in the car. I'll be done in just a minute or two."
I heard a small groan from Rachel, but she was insignificant to me. I parted ways from the group and approached Nate, arms across my chest.
He had both hands tucked into his jacket pockets, looking a little down. When I was a few feet away he looked me in the eyes. "Hey..."
"Hey." I answered.
He smiled. "I wasn't sure if you were going to stop to talk to me. Give me a second to organize what I want to say."
I let out a short laugh. "I like to keep people guessing."
His smile turned into a full blown grin. "Yea, you were always good at that. You're predictable in some ways, not so much in others." His hands remained in his jacket pocket, but I could tell that he clenched them into a fist. He was more nervous than I thought. "I want to say sorry. About the ice queen comment. You aren't-"
"It's okay." I cut him off, not wanting to hear anymore of his apology. "I haven't been in the best mood lately. Seeing you out of the blue, threw me for a curve."
He looked away, out onto the nearby street, watching the cars go by. "It was weird for me to see you again too. It's been more than a handful of years so I thought...we'd be cool by now."
"We were always cool." I told him, not liking the way his expression looked. "Hey...you still want my number?"
He looked back at me with lifted eyebrows. "Only if it's your real number this time."
I laughed. "I can promise that it's my real number. I just can't promise if I'll answer in a timely manner." I looked to the suv that I had rented for the weekend. "This weekend especially. My friend is from out of town so maybe later."
He pulled out his hand, holding his cellphone. "You know if I get your number, you're definitely going to have to see me again, right?"
"Why? You scared?"
He chuckled. "No. I was just thinking you might be. You were the one who didn't want to see me anymore when we split. You wanted to go to college and see the world."
"And I did go to college. Didn't see the whole world, but definitely quite a bit of it." I kicked a random rock by my feet. "Look, do you want my number or not?"
He laughed. "I'm ready whenever you are."
I gave him the number, then started to back up. "Alright. Laters."
I could hear him chuckle in the dark. "I'll see you around, Val."
I hurried to the car, under the pretense that my friends were waiting, but I knew it for what it was: nervousness. Being around Nate again made my heartbeat speed up. Not because I was still into him. It's just...things didn't end so well for us. Who doesn't get a little anxious after running into an old boyfriend?
"You gave him your number?!?" Brittany asked as soon as I got in the car.
I looked out the back window and realized that she was watching me the whole time. "Yea, why not?"
Brittany stared at me. "Didn't you say it was awkward?"
I nodded. "But, it's better than getting another surprise like tonight. It'd be even more awkward to run into him again if we don't have some closure." I started the car and started to drive us back to my house.
"Closure? Since when did you care about closure?"
I shrugged. Probably since I saw him standing alone in the parking lot. It brought on some flashbacks of when we broke up after graduation. He stood alone in a parking lot then too. Looking back, I was more then a little mean. But, we were going our separate ways no matter what. It was better to make a clean break.
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